Birthday Surprise
by BlackCat46
Summary: Katniss spends most of her twenty first birthday in Haymitch and Effie's study, and she has no idea why she was locked there, or why her friends are acting so suspiciously. Little does she know that she's in for a surprise.


_**Hello! Well, here I am with a one-shot based mostly on Katniss Everdeen for her birthday.**_

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games, its characters, or its world. All rights go to Suzanne Collins, and I am not Suzanne. I just like to play around with her characters.**

* * *

Katniss sits in the study of the Abernathy household, fidgeting. She could be out hunting, yet her crazy mentor, even crazier escort, and too-excitable boyfriend have locked her in a study to disappear and leave her to go mad. She checks the little cat clock that Effie has put in there to see that it's nearly lunchtime, and something that smells delicious is wafting over the road to her. She groans softly, then Effie opens the door with a sheepish little smile and a plate of food. "Katniss?" she asks sweetly. "I brought you some of our pasta salad and some lemonade."

Katniss notices the glass in Effie's neatly manicured hand and asks "Effie, why have I been taken hostage?"

Effie gives her a shy smile. "I was told to keep my mouth shut," she admits. "I'm also here to make sure that you don't go hungry or dehydrate."

"I need the bathroom," Katniss mutters."

"There's one just through that door," Effie says, pointing. "That's the only entrance to it, so you're safe to use it. Didn't Haymitch tell you about that?"

"No," Katniss grumbles. "He didn't."

"I will shout at him for you," Effie promises. "Now, there's food and lemonade."

"Thanks," Katniss mutters angrily. She's so annoyed that she doesn't expect Effie's hug, much less the kisses being peppered all over her forehead. "Effie? What's this?"

"This is affection," Effie replies, squeezing her gently. "It's how people show love. Now, darling, try not to be grouchy. You know we love you and wouldn't lock you up for nothing."

Katniss makes a disgusted sound, then gently shoves at the former escort. "Okay, go and yell at your husband for me. The sooner you do that, the sooner I get out of this cooped up little space," she says.

Effie places one more gentle kiss on Katniss's head, then chirps "You'll be fine, darling. I love you!" and bolts, locking Katniss in again.

"Crazy. She's crazy," Katniss mutters, her sour mood being interrupted by a growl from her stomach. She eyes the pasta, then shrugs, deciding that if Effie brought it to her, it must be edible. She eats the lot, then sips at the lemonade. After a while, Effie returns and immediately, Katniss says "You'd better not be hugging or kissing me again."

"Not if you don't want me to," Effie says, then hands her a jug of lemonade. "I feel bad leaving you here alone with nothing cold to drink in this stuffy room. You should open the window. The men insist that you've endured worse, naturally, but it feels cruel to leave you."

"Effie, babbling," Katniss sighs, then looks up from the jug of lemonade to see Effie's slightly hurt expression. "Sorry. I'm going mad in here. Thanks for the drink."

Effie nods a little, then gives Katniss a small smile. "I've got to run, but please open a window, and shout for me if you need more lemonade," she murmurs, her arms twitching as if she wants to hug her.

"I will," Katniss says, watching Effie fidget. "You go and give Haymitch a hug. And tell him to hurry up with whatever he's doing, I'm ready to leave."

Effie nods, and moves as if to kiss Katniss before turning and scurrying away like a frightened mouse. The lock clicks, then Effie squeaks. "You're needed," Haymitch mutters.

"Okay," Effie whispers. "Don't sneak up on me like that, darling. You scared me."

Haymitch chuckles and there's a sound that sounds suspiciously like kissing, and Katniss gags on air. There's a soft sigh, then a gentle slapping sound. "Go on, tiny," Haymitch chuckles. "I think the boy'll be going mad if I don't bring you back."

She laughs and the two head downstairs, muttering to each other, and Katniss thanks whatever put her in a position away from where those two can be clearly heard. Her gratitude only strengthens as Haymitch chuckles and Effie squeaks softly. "This has _got_ to be the worst birthday I've ever had," Katniss mutters, glaring at her lemonade.

Two hours later, Peeta comes to the door, looking a bit green in the face. "Hey, Katniss," he mutters. "Uh, do you want to come home for a bit? I have a feeling that you're not going to want to be here when-"

There's a thud and Katniss asks "What was that?"

"The reason you might want-" he starts, only to be cut off by a very familiar giggle. He looks disgusted, then mutters "Let's get out of here."

Katniss follows him out, determined to be as far from the sounds as possible. "Pretty sure he's too old for that," she mutters. "He'll break a hip."

Peeta chuckles. "Look, we've been working hard today, they've allotted two hours for this, and for you to shower and change," he says.

"Two hours for Haymitch? A bit ambitious, he's _ancient_ ," she mutters. "And why do I need to shower? What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Nothing," Peeta says. "But Effie's been on a shopping spree for you, and she's bought you a new dress to wear to dinner. Please will you just wear it once? Spare her feelings?"

"When do _I_ ever spare Effie Abernathy's feelings?" Katniss grumbles. "It's still weird to use her married name. She's going to have to stay Trinket forever to me."

Peeta chuckles, then kisses Katniss's lips gently. "You go upstairs and shower. I am sorry on our escort's behalf for the dress," he says.

She runs upstairs to take a shower, relishing the cool water after the heat of the day. She reluctantly pulls herself from the cool water to dry off after she simply cannot scrub any more, then dries off, wandering into hers and Peeta's room to find a dark green dress made of soft, floaty materials that she can't name, obviously breathable and cooling. She pulls on underwear and sprays on the antiperspirant that someone she strongly suspects to have been Haymitch has left on her bedside table, then tugs on the dress before putting her hair up in its signature braid. She heads downstairs to find Peeta having a glass of iced lemonade, then asks "Why did you say that you were sorry over Effie's choice of dress?"

"Because it's a dress, and you hate dresses," Peeta says. "And it's not as practical as you'd like, which usually means you'd find it revolting."

"It's the thinnest fabric she could get without it being revealing," Katniss says. "And it's forest green. I like that."

Peeta smiles and looks her over appreciatively. "You look beautiful," he tells her.

The door swings open, and Haymitch strolls in, looking smug about something. "Hey," he says proudly.

"What's got you so happy?" Katniss asks.

Effie stomps in, glowering at Haymitch. The reason Haymitch is smug is suddenly obvious, and glaringly purple. Effie grabs his wrist and snaps "You do _not_ get to run away from me when you've turned my neck purple! I'll have to wear a scarf in _this_ heat!"

Both the young adults turn away as Haymitch chuckles. "Everyone knows we're a couple, sweetheart. Couples have sex. That's normal," he tells her.

"Couples don't usually use each other as _chew toys_!" Effie shrieks.

"Can you two keep your bickering aside?" Peeta asks quietly.

Katniss mutters "And in your own house?"

"Do you two use each other as chew toys?" Effie huffs, her cheeks flushed with anger.

"Rude question," Haymitch chuckles, earning himself a light smack on the arm. He pulls a face and mockingly grumbles "Ouch. That hurt so much. You violent little creature."

"Oh, shut up," Effie snarls. "Well?!"

"No," Peeta says. "We don't."

Haymitch and Katniss are both staring at Effie. "Did you just say the words _shut up_?" Katniss asks in wonderment.

If looks could kill, Katniss's life would have just ended from Effie's glare. Her attention snaps back to her husband and even he recoils a little under her glare. "Did you hear that?! These two do not use each other as chew toys! _Especially_ where people can _see it_!" she snaps. "If you dare make marks on me again where they won't be covered by my clothes, I won't touch you for three whole months! Understand?!"

That scares Haymitch a lot, and both of the younger adults have to turn away to hide their amusement. "Shouldn't we get going?" Peeta asks, trying and failing to hide the laughter in his voice.

"Yes," Effie huffs shortly.

"Where to?" Katniss asks.

"We're going to town," Peeta says. "Come on."

Katniss follows them to town, a little lost. "All the shops will be closed, Peeta," she hisses into his ear. "Why are we heading into town now?"

"Because we are," he says.

"Does this have something to do with why I was held captive in Haymitch's study?" she asks.

"Actually, that's _Effie's_ study, I never use it," Haymitch pipes in.

Katniss ignores him, then looks up at Peeta. "Does it?"

"No," he replies smoothly. "Nothing at all."

"So it does!" she declares triumphantly. "Why are we heading into town?"

Nobody answers her, despite her constant questioning. Just minutes before they arrive in town, Haymitch ties a blindfold over Katniss's eyes, clapping a hand over her mouth as she protests. "Shh, sweetheart. Just trust me," he says.

"Haymitch, you'll scare the girl," Effie sighs, then reaches out to hold Katniss's hand. "Dear, if you've ever trusted any of us, you'll walk with us. Everything will be explained when we take the blindfold off."

"This feels like you're initiating me into some weird cult," she grumbles. "If I see any weird stuff when we get to the town, I'm leaving."

Effie lets out a tiny giggle, and between the three of them, they get Katniss to the square without incident. Peeta removes the blindfold and a deafening scream of _"Happy birthday!"_ assaults Katniss's ears.

She blinks a bit at the sudden light, looking around as everyone and everything comes back into focus. There's the makings of a birthday party all around her. "I knew you locked me in their study for a reason," she mutters to Peeta.

"She hates it," Haymitch chuckles, looking smugly at Effie. "I told you so."

"Do you hate it?" Effie asks softly, touching Katniss's arm gently.

Katniss looks around at the guests watching her, at Peeta cautiously watching her, Haymitch's smug look, and Effie's nervous expression. "Actually, it's not that bad. At least there are no cameras," she says with a shrug. "Still, I could do with food."

Everyone around her starts milling about and the buffet is opened. Katniss bolts for the food and stays there for a good portion of the evening, making up for all the cheese buns she could have eaten if she hadn't been locked in a study all day. Peeta strolls over and asks "How are you liking this?"

"I've got cheese buns and orange juice," she says. "I'm happy."

"Have you just been eating cheese buns all this time?" he asks, smiling a bit.

"You put cheese buns out. I'm going to eat them," she says with a shrug. "These are delicious, by the way."

The music suddenly stops and Effie's voice sounds over a microphone. "Katniss, come over to the gift table!" she squeaks.

"She always interrupts my cheese buns," Katniss sighs, but obediently makes her way over to the gift table. The sheer amount of gifts surprises her, but when she's told to open them, she looks at Effie. "Now?!"

"Yes, darling, now," Effie coos, beaming. "They're _your_ gifts!"

Katniss obediently opens all of the gifts, stunned by the flow of hunting gear she's got. A new set of hunting knives, a set of skinning knives, a crossbow, four new quivers of arrows, a new pair of hunting boots, a new jacket, a set of gloves for when she's skinning animals, a much larger game bag, a pair of night-vision glasses, a tent for overnight hunting, fishing hooks, a large thermos for her water, a large cool bag for her food, a new black shirt, and a pair of dark blue skinny jeans. She smiles at each of her guests as she opens their gifts, then Haymitch hands her a little box. She looks at him questioningly and he shrugs. She opens it to reveal a necklace with a tiny pendant on it. The pendant is an emerald _K_ set into a silver heart. On the back, an engraving reads _Happy 21st birthday, Katniss. All our love, Haymitch and Effie._ Katniss tears her eyes from the necklace to look up at her mentor and escort. "It's beautiful," she whispers, not quite sure that she can trust her voice right now.

"Don't you _dare_ cry," Haymitch says gruffly. "So much as one tear, you'll have this one crying."

Effie shoots him an offended look, then turns her gaze to Katniss. "I'm glad you like it, my girl," she says confidently. The teary blue eyes betray her confidence, though. "Only Peeta's gift to go, then you can get back to your cheese buns."

A laugh from the other guests, then Peeta hands Katniss a box even smaller than the one of the necklace. "Here you go," he says, smiling slightly at her.

She opens it up to see a glimmering diamond ring. "Peeta," she breathes out softly. "Why a ring?"

She glances at the older couple, who look just as confused as she does, then turns back to her boyfriend, who lowers himself down to one knee. "Katniss, will you marry me?" he asks, his voice the very epitome of calmness, where his shoulders are shaking with nerves.

Katniss freezes up, staring at him. "Are you for real?" she asks, hardly daring to believe it.

"Of course I am," he says. "Look, I know I'm not exactly what you deserve. I'm messed up, and the best thing I can do for you is make you cheese buns, but I love you, and I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy, and to protect you."

She laughs a little. "You need to give yourself a bit more credit than _that_ ," she says, a bit stunned. "If anyone doesn't deserve anyone, I don't deserve you. But since we're both trainwrecks, we might as well be trainwrecks together. Yeah, I'll marry you."

He looks so relieved that Katniss has to laugh again. He gets up to pluck the ring from its box and place it on Katniss's finger, then he pulls her close. "About damn time, too!" Haymitch exclaims. "Come on, Princess, let's get some champagne to celebrate."

"Really? Do you _ever_ turn your alcohol gauge off?" Effie grumbles, allowing him to pull her away. "I wanted to congratulate my kids!"

"Wait until later, you need some food," he tells her.

Katniss mutters "Promise me that we won't become that annoying."

"I promise," Peeta chuckles. "So, how did you enjoy this?"

"It's been great. I'd go back for more cheese buns, but those two are over there and I don't want to get involved in whatever they're fighting about now. Shall we go and-" she whispers, only to be cut off by Effie again. "Damn her."

"Katniss, honey, cake time!" Effie trills into her microphone.

"I'm going to give her a cupcake to shut her up," Katniss mutters. Peeta laughs and tugs her along to get the cake.

* * *

An hour later, Katniss and Peeta are home. Katniss flops on the sofa and says "I need a year just to recover from that."

"It wasn't that bad," Peeta chuckles.

"I'm talking about the stay in the study. I'll have nightmares of being locked up there," she sighs. "Are there any more cheese buns?"

"You and those cheese buns. Maybe you should marry one of those," he laughs.

"I might, but that'll be a very short-lived marriage," she mutters.

He brings her a plate of cheese buns and places it on her lap. "Here. Enjoy it, birthday girl," he says, kissing the top of her head.

"I will," she says, then begins devouring her cheese buns.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ ** _I hope you liked that. Honestly, I think Katniss was a little out of character here, but I will let you be the judges. I set this after the war to give her a surprise party that wasn't being filmed for propoganda. I don't think she would have had a party before the war or her Games, too much to do to consider it. At least we got to see her and Peeta get engaged, though._**

 ** _As always, if you have thoughts, ideas, constructive criticism, or want a chat, please let me know in a review below. Until next time, much love and happiness to you all. Cat. xxx_**


End file.
